Anthony Head

Birthday: 20 February 1954, Camden, London, England, UK

Birth Name: Anthony Stewart Head

Height: 185 cm

Anthony Stewart Head was born on February 20, 1954 in Camden Town, north London, England. He grew up in Hampton, near Richmond upon Thames in London. He's the youngest son of his parents, Seafield Head (a documentary filmmaker) and Helen Shingler (an actress). He is the younger brother of musical actor Murray Head who originated the role of Judas on the original album of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. His long term partner is former theatre administrator Sarah Fisher who he met when he was 28, and they are the parents of actresses Emily Head and Daisy Head. Besides acting, Head takes after his brother in being an accomplished singer, and they have appeared in many of the same productions, although never at the same time. In 1983, he was in a band named "Two Way". The band released a 45 single with three songs, produced by Richard Dodd and Ron Roker. Head's other skills are: horse riding, swimming, scuba diving, piano, guitar and stage fighting. Show less «

I've always resisted the idea of becoming a David Hasselhoff, and I hope I'm still resisting it.

When I called my parents to tell them about my new job as Giles, I told them Buffy was brilliant, bu...Show more »

When I called my parents to tell them about my new job as Giles, I told them Buffy was brilliant, but at the same time it was really funny. My dad said, ah, the problem with comedy is that all your best bits will end up on the cutting-room floor. He was trying to shield me from disappointment. But you can't protect your children in that way. You simply end up becoming a disappointment yourself. Instead, all you can do is encourage them and be there to support them if their choices don't go the right way. Show less «

I have a very open mind. I believe that there's a spirit world. I believe that there's a lot of stuf...Show more »

I have a very open mind. I believe that there's a spirit world. I believe that there's a lot of stuff out there that we don't know about, don't want to understand, and sometimes we don't want to understand it. Show less «

'Don't fall back on the parachute (my safety net). Go outside the zone of confidence and find out wh...Show more »

'Don't fall back on the parachute (my safety net). Go outside the zone of confidence and find out what's on the other side.'Anthony Head's answer to the question 'In a nutshell, my philosophy is this...' Show less «

We all sing about the things we're thinking; musicals are about expressing those emotions that you c...Show more »

We all sing about the things we're thinking; musicals are about expressing those emotions that you can't talk about. It works a real treat. Show less «

I can't put into words how much I missed my family when I was in LA. Even now, I feel emotional abou...Show more »

I can't put into words how much I missed my family when I was in LA. Even now, I feel emotional about it. It was a real test. I owe an enormous amount to Sarah. She knew I'd always wanted to work in America and when I got the chance, she said, go for it, I'll hold the fort here. In hindsight, it gave us all a wealth of opportunity, Buffy ran for seven seasons and I had the best time of my life. There were moments, though, when I thought I was insane and I would really struggle. I'd put the song Highway, Highway by Stephen Allen Davis on in my car, and just sit there and weep. Show less «

When I was filming Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) in America, for a couple of weeks beforehand we w...Show more »

When I was filming Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) in America, for a couple of weeks beforehand we would always fit in a family holiday in California. Show less «

We used to hang out at Joss's place Sunday nights and do Shakespeare readings. I got to do my Richar...Show more »

We used to hang out at Joss's place Sunday nights and do Shakespeare readings. I got to do my Richard III recently. Then we'd have a few tequilas, sit around the piano and sing. I talked to Joss years ago about doing a Buffy musical, and then finally in the summer he sat down and wrote "Once More, With Feeling," episode seven of season six. He's taken the inaccessible area of musicals - why does everybody keep singing? - and turned it to his advantage. It's the answer to "Hush, season four's spellbinding silent episode where nobody could talk. We all sing about the things we're thinking; musicals are about expressing those emotions that you can't talk about. It works a real treat. [January 9, 2002] Show less «

Acting was there in the very essence of the way we lived. When my brother was quite young, my mother...Show more »

Acting was there in the very essence of the way we lived. When my brother was quite young, my mother would go off doing films and acting in the theatre, but by the time I was born, she was at home much more and would do more TV. We'd talk a lot about acting and when we watched drama on TV, we'd analyze it deeply afterwards as a family, ad nauseum. Consequently, I got a real mindset about "real acting" and not going over the top. Show less «

I've been to Australia a couple of times, but never to the north or the center. I would love to see ...Show more »

I've been to Australia a couple of times, but never to the north or the center. I would love to see Ayers Rock. Show less «

All through childhood, I dressed up. My Christmas present was always a new dressing-up outfit, that ...Show more »

All through childhood, I dressed up. My Christmas present was always a new dressing-up outfit, that my mother - who was a brilliant seamstress - would make herself. At playgroup the woman who ran it took my parents aside one day and said, we love it when Anthony comes in dressing-up clothes, but it would be really nice to meet Anthony himself one day - he gets absolutely immersed in whatever character he's dressed up as. Show less «

Well, it wasn't a holiday, but I had expected to do some sightseeing when I went to Haiti to film a ...Show more »

Well, it wasn't a holiday, but I had expected to do some sightseeing when I went to Haiti to film a series called 'True Horror' for Discovery. Before I arrived, our film crew were kidnapped and held at knifepoint. Show less «

My father [Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head] was a documentary film director and producer, and ...Show more »

My father [Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head] was a documentary film director and producer, and my mother [Helen Shingler] was an actress. People think that must have made it easier for me to become an actor, but actually, that's nonsense. My mother said, well, if you must, and my father said I needed to have a second string to my bow, so if I didn't succeed at acting, I'd have something else I could do. Bless his heart, he was fairly controlling. Show less «

After I got the part of Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), I lived in Los Angeles for ...Show more »

After I got the part of Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), I lived in Los Angeles for five years, while my partner Sarah and the girls - Daisy was four and Emily was six - stayed in England. I'd try to go home to them every three or four weeks. The production team would work dates around me, and every time I got the chance to have six days clear, I'd get on a plane. Anything less than six days was disruptive - I'd have to leave as soon as they were getting used to having me around. I'd hit the ground running, take over from Sarah, take the girls to school and do as much as I could before I had to go back. I spent quite a lot of money on air fares, but we made it work. Show less «

My relationship with my brother [the actor Murray Head] didn't start well. My parents brought me hom...Show more »

My relationship with my brother [the actor Murray Head] didn't start well. My parents brought me home from hospital on his birthday, 13 days after my own birth. I'd had to stay in hospital because I got whooping cough. Needless to say, I didn't go down that well with my brother. I was not the best birthday present. Show less «

Somerset has a wonderful wildness about it - it hasn't been tamed. This is farming country, and ther...Show more »

Somerset has a wonderful wildness about it - it hasn't been tamed. This is farming country, and there's a realness here - I love it. Show less «

I think Giles likes Buffy, but she annoys him. The mere fact that she doesn't want the job that he's...Show more »

I think Giles likes Buffy, but she annoys him. The mere fact that she doesn't want the job that he's offering her -- she frustrates him. She represents everything he doesn't understand. Ultimately he becomes extremely fond of her. People have said, What is it? A father/daughter relationship? And it's not quite. There's nothing like it on TV. It's difficult to pigeonhole. He becomes extremely fond of her and gets into all sorts of terrible trouble because of it. ... Xander is complete anathema to him. A great annoyance because he never seems to take anything seriously. Cordelia is ... Who knows where she's coming from? Willow he respects greatly, but it's all a confusion to him. He's never really sure of anybody or anything. The only thing he is sure about is what he's supposed to do. Show less «

One bit of advice someone gave me - which I haven't yet tried - is that if you go to an area where y...Show more »

One bit of advice someone gave me - which I haven't yet tried - is that if you go to an area where you might pick up a tummy bug, you should seek out the local probiotic yogurt. Eating it will introduce you to the local gut flora, apparently. Show less «

Anthony Head

Anthony Head's FILMOGRAPHY

Anthony Head'S roles

Feedback about this page?